Glen Rice was questionable up to game time last night because of the continuing pain in his left foot, while center Luc Longley went on the injured list because of a degenerative left ankle and back woes.

Rice will have to play through the pain all season. Longley, meanwhile, is extremely concerned about the ankle, and also said he has suffered stomach problems because of all the anti-inflammatory drugs he has had to take due to the ankle problem.

“Three weeks ago I went off the anti-inflammatory because of my stomach problems,” Longley said. “With the degenerative condition in my ankle, it was getting to the point that I was having a hard time performing at any level, and I’m not playing anyway, so we’ve decided to try to aggressively rehab the ankle and settle it down.”

Rice was not scheduled to play last night but just before game-time he said he would give it one last try.

“I don’t want to miss any time,” Rice said. But Rice admitted he will have to slow down his offseason program. He plays basketball Monday through Friday in the offseason in Miami.

“Glen’s been great,” coach Jeff Van Gundy said. “He could have easily gone on the injured list and stayed on it because [trainer] Mike [Saunders] and Dr. [Norman] Scott have said it’s going to take a whole summer for it to get better. I really like him. He wants to play.”

Longley was replaced on the roster by Felton Spencer.

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Before the game, Van Gundy was asked about the Heat’s loss of Eddie Jones, who is out for an extended period of time with a separated left shoulder.

“I didn’t hear the news,” Van Gundy said, acting as if he had no knowledge of the injury. When told the news, Van Gundy said, “Well certainly that’s a huge loss for them.”

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Knicks’ weird schedule continues tonight when they travel to Indiana to play the Pacers in second game of home-and-home series. They then play the Nets on Friday in New Jersey. Knicks went into last night 10-7 in the first games of back-to-backs, and 8-9 in the second games.